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Zebedee Nungak

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Zebedee Nungak CQ (Inuktitut: ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ Jaipiti Nunngaq; born 23 April 1951) is a Canadian Inuit author, actor, essayist, journalist, and politician. As a child, Nungak was taken from his home in the community of Saputiligait, along with two other children, for the purposes of an experiment by the Canadian government to "[expunge] them of Inuit culture and groom them to become northern leaders with a southern way of thinking." Nungak later became pivotal in securing successful land rights claims and the creation of his home territory of Nunavik.

Zebedee Nungak
CQ
ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ
Born
Jabedee Noongoak

(1951-04-23) 23 April 1951 (age 73)
Saputiligait, Quebec, Canada
Political partyIndependent
AwardsNational Order of Quebec

In his early career, Nungak worked as a translator and interpreter for the Canadian government. He then became one of the founding members of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association, and a signatory to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. During the aboriginal rights constitutional conferences, Nungak was the co-chair of the Inuit Committee on National Issues. He later served as vice president, and eventually president, of the Makivik Corporation, where he actively worked to ensure the recognition of Inuit rights. In 2017, in recognition to his services to the Inuit of Northern Quebec, he was awarded the National Order of Quebec by Premier of Quebec Philippe Couillard.

Early life

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Zebedee Nungak (Inuktitut: ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ Jaipiti Nunngaq)[1][2] was born in the community of Saputiligait, Nunavik, Quebec, a small village south of Puvirnituq[3][4][5] on 23 April 1951.[1] The location was listed as "Kenoruk's camp" by the Anglican priest who had recorded his birthplace; Nungak mused that it was likely due to the inability for the reverend to spell the location's name correctly.[6][7] He had received the E-number E9-1956, a disc number assigned to Inuit in the east which was abolished in 1978.[7] Nungak's mother was biracial, having been born to an Inuit mother and a Scottish father; Nungak never met his maternal grandfather.[8] He was one of seven children, alongside Talasia, Poasie, Harry, Aliva, Alasie, and Joanasie.[1] Nungak's name at birth was listed as Jabedee Noongoak.[7] Later in life, he had to have a lawyer certify that the two names belonged to the same person.[6]

The "Eskimo Experiment"

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Between 1966 and 1969, grades 9–11, Nungak attended Ottawa's Laurentian High School.[1]

Until he was 12 years old, Nungak attended day school at the Povungnituk Federal Day School.[3] When Nungak was 12 years old, on 14 August 1963,[1] he was taken as a part of what was called the "Eskimo Experiment" by the Government of Canada. Where he, along with two other children, Peter Ittinuar and Eric Tagoona,[9][10] was to finish high school in the south of Canada.[3] The three children, chosen due to their high test scores, were taken from their homes without their families' informed consent and housed with English-speaking middle-class families in the city of Ottawa.[9][5] Nungak, unlike Ittinuar and Tagoona, described his entry into the experiment as a "walk in", not having undergone IQ testing.[11] Nungak as part of the experiment, attended three schools: Ottawa's Parkway Public School, J.H. Putman Public School, and Laurentian High School.[1] Nungak, alongside Ittinuar and Tagoona, excelled at physical sports such as judo and swimming. The three appeared on the cover of the 1964 edition of Judo World magazine.[1]

Nungak, reflecting on his experiences and his treatment by his host families, described having "nothing bad to say about anybody during that period."[1] Ramifications came due to Nungak's isolation from his community, Nungak was not around for the birth of his youngest sister, nor for the death of his grandmother. Nungak was isolated from his family who were left unable to contact him following his relocation to Ottawa.[1] Once Nungak had returned, he faced ridicule from his Inuit peers, but felt simultaneously unable to fit into the southern society he was taken to.[5] Nungak had lost key skills that other members in his community had developed; he was unable to remove the seal's bile sack, or cut snow blocks using a pana, a kind of snow knife.[12]

The experiment, with archived documentation, was conducted as to determine if the Inuit had the same level of intelligence as their non-Inuit counterparts.[13] The program had been devised to "expunge them of Inuit culture and groom them to become northern leaders with a southern way of thinking."[5] While conducting the experiment, the Canadian government acknowledged the possible ramifications of the program in destroying family ties, as well as Inuit culture.[14] The Canadian government later conducted a similar program in 1965, resettling four Inuit girls.[13] In 2009, a film detailing their experiences, The Experimental Eskimos, was made by filmmaker Barry Greenwald.[10][14]

Career

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As a result of their extended time as part of the experiment, Nungak and Ittinuar realized they had a unique perspective of both the north and south.[5] Nungak joined the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs with the goal of establishing Inuit self-government.[5] At the age of 19, he started working as a government translator and interpreter and returned to his home community during the 1970s.[3][5][15] He also worked as an editor for Tukisinaqtuk ("[The] Message"), a trilingual newsletter, and as a broadcaster for CBC North Iqaluit.[3] In a 2011 interview, Nungak said that over the course of his political career, he has "crossed antlers with prime ministers, premiers and Québec separatists".[5]

Creation of Nunavik

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Map of the Nunavik region

Nungak was described as one of the leading figures in the building of the Inuit region known as Nunavik. He, along with Charlie Watt, were the founding members of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NQIA) in 1972.[15] Nungak served as its secretary-treasurer.[4] The association represented the Inuit, working alongside the Grand Council of the Crees, in negotiations with the governments of Quebec and Canada for the first land claim on behalf of the Inuit.[5][16] Nungak, as a negotiator on behalf of the NQIA, was one of eleven signatories to the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975.[3][9][14][16][5] Additionally, Nungak was the manager of Saputik, an organization tasked with holding Quebec's Inuit lands.[15]

From 1984 and 1987, Nungak was co-chair of the Inuit Committee on National Issues,[15] negotiating with the Canadian government that Inuit rights be enshrined within the Canadian constitution during the aboriginal rights constitutional conferences.[3][17][18][5] Between 1995 and 1998, he was the president of the Makivik Corporation, which was responsible to administrate the compensation funding as part of the JBNQA.[3][19] He had previously served as its vice president.[5] Nungak, who was appointed president of the organization in 1995 to succeed Simeonie Nalukturuk, was primaried in 1997 by two challengers, but won with 79% of the vote cast by beneficiaries of the agreement.[20]

Writing career and journalism

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Nungak is a prolific journalist, having written over sixty articles for a variety of magazines.[3] Nungak has written in Inuktitut, This Magazine, and Windspeaker.[5] Fluent in English, French, and Inuktitut, he has published books in all three languages.[3] His writings focus on the preservation of Inuit stories and to increase awareness on the preservation of the Inuit languages.[3] Nungak has previously published collections of stories from Puvirnituq, collections on the deliberations of Nunavik elders, and the trilingual Illirijavut. ᐃᓪᓕᕆᔭᕗᑦ. That which we treasure. La langue que nous chérissons for the purposes of Inuktitut language revitalization.[3][21] Nungak, as part of the Avataq Cultural Institute, went on a tour of Nunavik to determine the current state of the Inuktitut language, writing a plan to ensure its preservation. Nungak has been an outspoken proponent of Inuit linguistic and cultural preservation.[21] One of the activities that he has engaged in is by hosting games of Uvangaqqaaq ('Me First'), a competitive Inuktitut word game. While doing so, he described himself as "the Alex Trebek of the North".[5] One of the subjects of Nungak's works is the fictional study "Qallunology", the Inuit study of white people.[22][23] The study designates the philosophical other as the Qallunaat, from the perspective of the Inuit.[24] Qallunology is featured heavily in the documentary Qallunaat! Why White People Are Funny, which he co-directed.[3][5]

Political career

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Nungak ran twice for federal and provincial office. He ran for the seat of Duplessis as an independent politician during the 1976 Quebec general election.[25] Nungak received 1916 votes, placing fourth.[26] He subsequently ran in the 1979 Canadian federal election, again as an independent politician, running in the riding of Abitibi. Nungak lost the race, only receiving 986 votes, or two percent of the vote.[27][26]

Nungak was openly critical of the Quebec sovereignty movement and the Parti Québécois, who had pushed for an independent Quebec.[28][29] Despite his open opposition to the movement, Nungak refused to describe himself as a "federalist", separating himself from both the Liberal Party and Quebec Liberal Party's form of federalist approach, as well as their disregard for Indigenous self-preservation.[30] Nungak expressed his concerns that an independent Quebec would potentially isolate the Inuit of Nunavik by severing their ties with the other Inuit in Canada and subsequently end the special relationship that Nunavik had with the federal government.[31] Nungak had pushed for the federal government to intervene in the scenario Quebec was to become independent.[31] He was critical of the sovereignty movement, whose rhetoric ignored Indigenous voices as they were deemed "inconsequential" compared to the Francophone Quebecois electorate.[32] In response to that argument, Nungak retorted: "Well, it may be true that our numbers are inconsequential but the land we tread—where we have had our homes for thousands of years—is not inconsequential at all".[32] As president of the Makivik Corporation, Nungak went on speaking engagements in Brussels, Geneva, and London to advocate against the movement and a potential second independence referendum.[33] As part of his engagements, Nungak met with the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations and the Royal Geographical Society of London.[33] Nungak formerly served as a councillor for the community of Kangirsuk.[34]

Awards and accolades

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In 2017, Nungak received the National Order of Quebec by Premier of Quebec Philippe Couillard during the 2017 Canadian honours in recognition to his contributions to Quebec's society.[3][35][36] He was awarded the Knight insignia.[35][37]

In 2021, Nungak was one of five recipients of the First Peoples' Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec J. Michel Doyon to honour their contributions in their communities and abroad.[38]

Personal life

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Nungak lives in the community of Kangirsuk with his wife and seven children.[3][17] He currently works as a cultural commentator, and for the Avataq Cultural Institute for issues of language preservation.[12][21] Nungak plays the accordion.[39]

Selected works

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Available in English
  • 1969: Eskimo Stories from Povungnituk. Unikkaatuat sanaugarngnik atyingualiit Puvirngniturngmit. ISBN 9780660502854
  • 2017: Wrestling With Colonialism on Steroids: Quebec Inuit Fight for Their Homeland ISBN 9781550654684
Available in French
  • 1975: Légendes inuit de Povungnituk. Unikkaatuat sanaugarngnik atyingualiit Puvirngniturngmit ISBN 978-0660502854
  • 2019: Contre le colonialisme dopé aux stéroïdes. Le combat des Inuit du Québec pour leurs terres ancestrales ISBN 9782764625682
Available in English and French
  • 2012: Illirijavut. ᐃᓪᓕᕆᔭᕗᑦ. That which we treasure. La langue que nous chérissons ISBN 978-2-921644-88-4
All works of Nungak's are available in Inuktitut

Electoral history

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1976 Quebec general election: Duplessis
Party Candidate Votes %
Parti Québécois Denis Perron 20,100 58.60
Liberal Henri-Paul Boudreau 8,776 25.58
Union Nationale Roland Gauthier 3,050 8.89
Independent Zebedee Nungak 1,916 5.59
Ralliement créditiste Jacques A. Quirion 461 1.34
Total valid votes 34,303 97.24
Total rejected ballots 973 2.76
Turnout 35,276 78.85
Electors on the lists 44,739 –
1979 Canadian federal election: Abitibi
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Social Credit Armand Caouette 21,387 45.4 -11.2
Liberal Ronald Tétrault 15,697 33.3 +1.2
Progressive Conservative Jean-Jacques Martel 5,652 12.0 +6.5
Rhinoceros Doris St-Pierre 1,425 3.0
New Democratic Maurice Vaney 1,420 3.0 -1.7
Independent Zebedee Nungak 986 2.1
Union populaire Judith Desjardins 344 0.7
Marxist–Leninist Jean Létourneau 233 0.5
Total valid votes 47,144 100.0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nungak, Zebedee. "EXPERIMENTAL ESKIMOS" (PDF). Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure Developments (in English, French, and Inuktitut). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  2. ^ Inuktitut (PDF) (in English, French, and Inuktitut) (Volume 106 ed.). p. 5. Retrieved 15 March 2022. ᐊᒃᓱᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᒃ, ᐊᒃᓱᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᖏᓛᒃ ᖁᕕᐊᑉᐳᒍᑦ, ᐊᓕᐊᑉᐳᒍᑦ ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ ᐊᓪᓚᖃᑕᐅᒍᓐᓇᓯᖃᑦᑕᓚᖓᓕᕐᒥᒻᒪᑕ ᐃᓄᑦᑎᑐᑦ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᕐᓄᐊᑐᒃᓴᓂᒃ. / We are very very pleased Zebedee Nungak is back as a contributor to Inuktitut Magazine.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Chartier, Daniel (2018). "Nungak, Zebedee". Inuit Literatures ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᓪᓚᒍᓯᖏᑦ Littératures inuites. Université du Québec à Montréal: International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Nungak, Zebedee. "The Decimation of Inuit Security". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Pfeiff, Margo (June 2011). "ESKIMO MAN, INTERRUPTED" (PDF). Up Here: 28–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b Nungak, Zebedee (2006). "Rescuing Inuit names from phonetic butcher". Windspeaker. Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "E9-1956". Inuktitut Vol. 88 (PDF). Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. 2000. pp. 33–37. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. ^ Nungak, Zebedee. "Part Qallunaaq From Hudson Bay to the Firth of Tay" Searching for My Scottish Grandfather by Zebedee Nungak". Electric Canadian. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Blackburn, Mark (5 May 2017). "'Experimental Eskimos' get one step closer to reconciliation". APTN National News. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b Klie-Cribb, Mathew (27 July 2015). "Experimental Eskimos". Canadian Geographic. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  11. ^ Blackburn, Mark (4 April 2017). "'Experimental Eskimos' hope change of government leads to recognition and compensation for social experiment carried out in 1960s". APTN News. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Reel Insights | The Experimental Eskimos". APTN TV. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  13. ^ a b Rogers, Sarah (13 July 2020). "Experimental Inuit hope to see claim move forward after 12-year wait". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Smith, Charlie (5 May 2010). "Aboriginal stories go beyond political drama in The Experimental Eskimos and Six Miles Deep". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d Petrone, Penny (1 January 1992). Northern Voices: Inuit Writing in English. University of Toronto Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8020-7717-2. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  16. ^ a b Karnick, Sonali (2016). "INSIDE THE JAMES BAY CONFLICT, 44 YEARS LATER". CBC Radio. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Wrestling with Colonialism on Steroids by Zebedee Nungak". Vehicule Press. Vehicule Press. 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  18. ^ Conway, Kyle (2011). Everyone Says No: Public Service Broadcasting and the Failure of Translation. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-7735-8710-6. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  19. ^ Phillips, Todd (4 April 1997). "Makivik boss faces two challengers". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  20. ^ Wilkin, Dwane (18 July 1997). "Nungak returned to helm of Makivik". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  21. ^ a b c George, Jane (25 February 2013). "Nunavik team urges more work on rescuing the Inuit language". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  22. ^ Nungak, Zebedee (2006). "Introducing the science of Qallunology". Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. Windspeaker. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  23. ^ Rasmussen, Derek (2002). "Qallunology: A Pedagogy for the Oppressor" (PDF). Philosophy of Education. 58: 85–94. doi:10.47925/2002.085. S2CID 146731588. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  24. ^ Mongeon-Bourbonnais, Clara (2014). La figure du Qallunaat : Zebedee Nungak et la prise de parole inuit (PDF) (MA thesis) (in French). Université du Québec à Montréal. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, D'Arcy-McGee à Duplessis - National Assembly of Québec". Assemblée Nationale du Quebec. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  26. ^ a b Sayers, Anthony (2017). "Zebedee Nungak". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  27. ^ Rogers, Sarah (3 April 2011). "Green Party recruits Inukjuak candidate for Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022. former Makivik Corp. president Zebedee Nungak ran as an independent in the 1979 federal election, receiving two per cent of the vote.
  28. ^ George, Jane (12 September 1997). "Nunavik smiles for Lucien, then signs for the cash". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  29. ^ "House of Commons Debates VOLUME 134 NUMBER 048 2nd SESSION 35th PARLIAMENT" (PDF). 16 May 1996. p. 2908. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  30. ^ Nungak, Zebedee (14 March 1997). "Nungak: I'm not a federalist". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  31. ^ a b Freeman, Alan; Grady, Patrick (1995). "DIVIDING THE HOUSE PLANNING FOR A CANADA WITHOUT QUEBEC" (PDF). p. 129. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  32. ^ a b Came, Barry (27 February 1995). "THE NATIVES SAY NO". Maclean's | The Complete Archive. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  33. ^ a b Wilkin, Dwane (28 February 1997). "Nungak takes unity message to Europe". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  34. ^ George, Jane (11 November 2005). "Two communities without mayors after Nunavik election". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  35. ^ a b "Zebedee Nungak". Ordre national du Québec. 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  36. ^ "Photo: Nunavik leader, language advocate honoured with Ordre du Québec". Nunatsiaq News. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  37. ^ Binette, André (13 August 2019). "Le combat des Inuits du Québec pour leurs terres ancestrales | L'aut'journal". L'aut'journal. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  38. ^ Pelletier, Jeff (14 October 2021). "5 Nunavik residents receive lieutenant-governor's medal". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  39. ^ Hiscott, Jim (2000). "Inuit Accordion Music—A Better Kept Secret". Canadian Folk Music/Musique Folklorique Canadienne. 34: 1. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
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